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S L Helfand

Publications and source records attributed to S L Helfand.

28 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1983

The Chediak-Higashi gene in humans. III. Studies on the mechanisms of NK impairment.

Lymphocytes from six Chediak-Higashi (CH) patients were markedly depressed in their ability to lyse tumour cell targets in both 51Cr release and single cell cytotoxicity assays. The frequency of lymphocytes bearing the OKM1 marker and the frequency of T3+, T4+, T8+, Ia+, Mo1+, Mo2+ and B1+ cells was normal among sheep erythrocyte rosetting (E+) and non-rosetting (E-) peripheral blood leucocytes analysed by flow cytofluorography. Cells expressing the NK shared markers, OKM1, mac-1, FcR, and the characteristic large granular lymphocyte (LGL) morphology of NK cells were also present in normal numbers in the highly enriched NK fraction separated on Percoll density gradients. This fraction did not contain detectable numbers of cells expressing the Mo2 marker of human monocytes. Therefore most of the cells stained by monoclonal OKM1 and mac-1 in this fraction are likely NK cells, rather than monocytes, and we conclude that the size of the NK pool in CH patients is probably normal. The capacity of CH lymphocytes to recognize and bind to tumour cells was also normal as was the subsequent burst of oxygen intermediates produced by the NK cells in a chemiluminenscence assay. We have shown elsewhere that O2- generation is directly involved in activating subsequent steps in the NK cytolytic pathway. These results suggest that NK cells in CH patients are present in normal frequency but are blocked at some post-recognition, post-activation step in the cytolytic pathway subsequent to the burst of oxygen intermediates but preceding the lethal hit.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1982

Oxygen intermediates are triggered early in the cytolytic pathway of human NK cells.

The mechanism of tumour cell destruction by natural killer (NK) cells or other lymphocytes is not understood. NK cells appear to represent a primitive anti-tumour surveillance system more analogous to macrophages than lymphocytes. Free oxygen radicals (O-2, OH) and H2O2 are thought to be involved in cell destruction by macrophages and therefore we looked for similar cytocidal intermediates of oxygen in NK cells. These highly reactive molecular species can easily be detected in the presence of luminol by the emission of light. We show here that highly enriched human NK cells respond to NK-sensitive but not NK-insensitive tumour cells with a rapid burst of oxygen metabolites as detected both by chemiluminescence and cytochrome c reduction. Agents which can prevent chemiluminescence and cytochrome c reduction, such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), reduced NK-mediated cytolysis and agents which increased chemiluminescence, such as interferon, also increased NK-mediated cytolysis. These results suggest that the production of oxygen species may be the earliest event to occur in the NK cell following tumour cell contact, and these products are involved in NK-mediated cytolysis.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Chemiluminescence response of human natural killer cells. I. The relationship between target cell binding, chemiluminescence, and cytolysis.

The binding of tumor cells or fetal fibroblasts to human natural killer (NK) cells led to a rapid chemiluminescence response within seconds of target-effector interaction. The degree of chemiluminescence was dependent on the concentration of NK-enriched lymphocytes or target cells, and plasma membrane vesicles from K562 also induced a chemiluminescence response. Mild glutaraldehyde treatment of effector cells abrogated their ability to generate chemiluminescence, whereas K562 target cells treated in the same way were almost fully able to induce a chemiluminescence response to NK-enriched lymphocytes. These results show a directionality of response with NK as the responders and tumor cells as the stimulators. A survey of eight different tumor cell lines and fetal fibroblast lines revealed a striking correlation (r greater than 0.93, P less than 0.001) between the ability of a given line to bind to NK-enriched lymphocytes, induce chemiluminescence, and to be lysed. Three differentiated sublines of K562 grown in butyrate and cloned induced little chemiluminescence compared with the K562 parent, and they were selectively resistant to NK-mediated binding and cytolysis. In addition, treatment of K562 cells with higher concentrations of glutaraldehyde for longer periods led to varying degrees of target antigen preservation, as measured in cold target competition assays and in conjugate formation. The degree of NK target antigen preservation correlated directly with the ability of the cells to induce chemiluminescence (r greater than 0.95). The degree of NK activation was also important because interferon-pretreated effectors generated more chemiluminescence upon stimulation with K562 or MeWo targets. Monocytes or granulocytes did not contribute to the chemiluminescence induced by NK-sensitive targets. Some NK-resistant tumor cell lines were sensitive to monocyte-mediated cytolysis and also induced chemiluminescence in monocytes but not NK cells. These results show that the target structures recognized by the NK cell may play a role in NK activation because the degree of chemiluminescence was directly proportional to the ability of a given target cell line to bind to the NK cell and to be lysed.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Recognition of myelin-associated glycoprotein by the monoclonal antibody HNK-1.

Myelin-associated glycoprotein (MAG) is a quantitatively minor component in both peripheral and central myelin sheaths that is thought to have a role in cell-cell interactions within the nervous system. We show here that a mouse monoclonal antibody, HNK-1, which is directed against human natural killer cells also recognizes an antigenic determinant of human central and peripheral nervous system white matter by immunoperoxidase staining of tissue sections. Immunoblot analysis of myelin proteins and purified extracted MAG indicates that the antigen recognized is MAG.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Segmental distribution of bithorax complex proteins during Drosophila development.

The Ubx and bxd transcription units comprise a single functional domain in the bithorax complex of Drosophila melanogaster. The segmental distributions and nuclear localization of proteins encoded by the Ubx unit have been determined by immunofluorescence staining with antibodies raised against a fusion protein containing Ubx coding sequences. Wild-type and mutant distributions are consistent with a model in which the protein-coding functions of the domain derive from the Ubx unit and are regulated by the bxd unit.

Animals↗